We've told you before about how big banks cut corners on paperwork over the last few years in order to speed struggling homeowners into foreclosure. And a "60 Minutes" report that aired last night offers fresh anecdotal reporting on just how irresponsible--and potentially fraudulent--the banks' practices were. Meanwhile, compelling video of a grandmother being evicted from her home by a SWAT team last week suggests the banks aren't slowing down their rush to foreclosure and eviction.
Banks profit by processing a vast number of homes into foreclosure as quickly as possible. But as "60 Minutes" details, many of the mortgages at issue were bundled and sold from one Wall Street investor to another during the housing boom, with scant attention paid among financial players to the actual underlying ownership documents. And as the foreclosures unwind in a slew of court proceedings nationwide, many banks have produced dubiously rendered legal documents that seek to shore up the ownership paperwork long after the original mortgage transactions were on the books. In some cases, financial institutions paid contract companies who employed an army of "robo-signers"office workers who forged signatures on mortgage documents that were then used to initiate foreclosures.

Aren't we talking about the packaging of mortgages from one financial institution to another? My home loan has been transferred twice since I closed on the refi. First it was Homestead Savings and Loan, then Bank of America, now it's Chase Manhattan.

We have no control over who buys our mortgage. Only when a bank services it's own loans, and they declare this at closing, can you count on them hanging on to it.

Sometimes it seems they want us to default on our mortgage because a new lender starts screwing up the payments when you have more then one property. I've had to refinance a few of my properties because the lame ass lender who bought the mortgage started screwing up every one of my payments.

High down payment requirement gonna price many out of the housing market...Proposed rules could shut many out of housing market6/8/2011 - Bankers, community advocates protest tough down payment requirements

Proposed rules sparked by the financial industry meltdown of 2008 could have the effect of clamping down credit so hard that lower-income buyers and many others would be shut out of the mortgage market, critics say. The critics, including an unlikely coalition of mortgage lenders, consumer advocates, housing industry officials and lawmakers, say regulators have gone too far in their effort to prevent a repeat of the reckless and fraudulent lending that brought the nation's economy to its knees.

Opponents argue that the new rules, proposed by a bevy of federal regulators, could have the unintended consequence of restricting the American dream of homeownership to the wealthy, leaving behind many creditworthy buyers and shrinking the pool of home buyers just as the housing market is struggling to regain its footing. "If this rule goes through as it stands, the demographic of borrowers who get (favorable rates) will be white and wealthy," said David Stevens, chief executive officer of the Mortgage Bankers Association and former commissioner of the Federal Housing Administration. "African-American, Latino and first-time home buyers will be charged higher prices."

Stevens was commenting on 376 pages of proposed rules for "Qualified Residential Mortgages," which would require a 20 percent down payment and limit a borrower's debt payments to no more than about one-third of income. Critics say the rules would force up the borrowing costs for lower-income and younger borrowers because lenders would charge higher rates for loans that do not qualify for QRM status. They say that could sideline millions of potential first-time buyers who haven't saved the full 20 percent &#8212; and hurt the prospects of the 11 million current homeowners who owe more than their home is worth.

The rules are intended to reduce the number of risky loans by requiring that lenders hold onto 5 percent of any loans that do not qualify for QRM standards. Loans that meet the standards could be sold fully into the secondary market, which is normal practice for most mortgage lenders. It was this lack of "risk retention" that led to the surge of risky lending that has helped trigger millions of foreclosures and sent home prices tumbling, according to Sheila Bair, head of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.

Fed sees economy faltering in several regionsHigh gas prices, effects of Japan quake are putting brakes on the recovery

WASHINGTON &#8212; For the first time this year, the economy has slowed in several U.S. regions, burdened by high gas prices that have weakened consumer spending and crises in Japan that reduced manufacturing output. All 12 of the Federal Reserve's bank regions grew this spring. But four of the regions suffered slower growth in April and May from earlier this year, according to a Fed survey released Wednesday.

It was the weakest survey since fall, when the Fed said two regions failed to grow at all. And it confirmed a slew of data that portray a national economy whose growth has faltered. Hiring has slowed, orders to factories have declined and home prices have fallen. Fed banks in New York, Philadelphia, Atlanta and Chicago said growth weakened in those regions. By contrast, the Fed regions in Boston, Cleveland, Richmond, St. Louis, Minneapolis, Kansas City and San Francisco said growth there remained steady.

The Dallas region was the only one to report accelerating growth. That was mostly because of higher oil prices, which benefited the region's energy industry. The report, known as the "Beige Book," is based on anecdotal information gathered by officials at the Fed regional banks. It is released eight times a year and provides a more in-the-trenches review of the economy than government statistics do. Wednesday's report covered the roughly seven weeks between April 5 and May 27.

Manufacturing output grew more slowly in five districts. Japan's March 11 earthquake and tsunami have disrupted auto production and sales. Many factories in the U.S. owned by Japanese automakers, including Toyota and Honda, rely on Japanese suppliers for electronic components and other parts. They've had to cut output because of shortages of those supplies. Such production cuts, in turn, have reduced the flow of cars to dealers, the Fed report said. Auto sales in the New York, Philadelphia and Cleveland districts have declined.

Federal funds help Arizona's jobless keep their homes...Arizona's jobless able to keep homes with help of federal fundsJun. 28, 2011 - Qualified homeowners can get up to $2,000/month to pay their mortgages for as long as 24 months

Even as unemployment aid in Arizona dwindles, a federally funded program is quietly helping more people in the state afford their mortgages after they lose a job. An Arizona Housing Department program called Save Our Home AZ gives qualified homeowners cash assistance to make their mortgage payments if they are unemployed or underemployed. The program uses $36 million of a Treasury Department allocation given to states suffering the most from the real-estate crash.

When the aid program launched last year, the cash-assistance plan was largely overshadowed by another portion of the plan that aimed to help homeowners by modifying their mortgages to reduce their payments. The money paid for paperwork assistance and gave lenders incentives to modify loans. But the loan-modification plan has foundered, partly because it requires that banks forgive a portion of the amount borrowers owe, something lenders are reluctant to do.

As Housing Department officials found themselves unable to use the money for loan modifications, they ramped up the mortgage-aid aspect of the program. The department can offer qualified homeowners up to $2,000 a month to pay their mortgages for as long as 24 months. Housing advocates applaud the program and say not enough homeowners know about it. So far, 67 Arizona homeowners have received aid, and the agency expects hundreds more will follow this year. The program has until 2017 to spend the money, and almost 900 applications are pending.

My recollection of events is that MANY of the large banks initially refused to be in TARP. Till the admin put them in room and strongly suggested that anyone of them refusing to participate might get negative ratings from the govt. AND-- when many of the banks WANTED to repay the loans and get OUT of TARP, the current administration wouldn't talk to them..

They were strongarmed into accepting loans and then once they bit -- weren't allowed to repay and get out.

Useful Searches

About USMessageBoard.com

USMessageBoard.com was founded in 2003 with the intent of allowing all voices to be heard. With a wildly diverse community from all sides of the political spectrum, USMessageBoard.com continues to build on that tradition. We welcome everyone despite political and/or religious beliefs, and we continue to encourage the right to free speech.

Come on in and join the discussion. Thank you for stopping by USMessageBoard.com!